Millions of Americans don’t get a good night’s sleep. Medical conditions deny some their rest. Bad habits affect others. Plus, some people choose not to sleep, trying to deal with an overload of duties at work and home.

Unfortunately, sleeplessness can affect your health, your professional performance, and your family life. The good news is that most people can get a good night’s sleep. Today, thanks to advances in medical research, we know more about treating sleep disorders and improving sleep hygiene than ever before.

Scientists now recognize that, like all mammals, we need to sleep. Simply put, it recharges our “batteries.” Restless nights can harm our physical and emotional health and profoundly affect our ability to think, to create, and to remember. Losing just one hour of sleep can slow our response time and cloud our reason. For example, drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 traffic accidents annually, resulting in 40,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

While all of us need to sleep, we don’t all need exactly the same amount. Plus, our requirements and patterns shift during our lives. Adults typically require seven to nine hours a day. Infants need 16 to 18 hours; preschool children 10 to 12 hours. School-aged children and teens need at least nine hours. As many a frustrated parent knows, teenagers love to stay up late and, then, remain in bed late. Older adults prefer going to bed early and rising early. These different patterns can have a big impact in homes where teens and grandparents share space. Not only do our sleeping patterns change throughout life, but our desire for sleep ebbs and flows during the day. Thanks to our internal clock, most of us feel alert in the morning and drowsy from midnight to 7 a.m. and, then again, from 1 to 4 p.m.

What prevents people from getting the sleep they need? Sometimes, they have a medical condition, like sleep apnea. This occurs when a person’s breathing constantly starts and stops as they try to sleep. This disrupts their rest, leaving them tired the next day. Another common problem is restless legs syndrome. People with this disorder experience a creeping, tingling, or crawling feeling in their limbs that keeps them awake. Limited space prevents a full discussion of all sleep disorders, but dozens more exist.

Other people may not sleep well due to poor habits. They eat or drink too much too close to bedtime. They put off sleep trying to do work. Or they may spend too much time with electronic entertainment, like video games, that excites them and prevents a gradual evening relaxation that leads to sound sleep.

Fixing a sleep problem depends on its cause. If you constantly are tired, you may need professional help. Consider calling a doctor, if you:

• Have insomnia for 30 or more days. Insomnia is having difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep.

• Feel depressed and it’s affecting your sleep.

• Are extremely sleepy during the day.

• Snore excessively.

• Awaken and still feel tired.

• Experience feelings in your legs that keep you awake.

Of course, not everybody who has trouble sleeping needs medical care. Some people may benefit from making a few easy changes in their lives. If you want to enhance your sleep habits, you might try:

• Exercise five to six hours before bedtime. Exercise raises the body temperature afterward. The drop in temperature five to six hours later is associated with increased sleepiness.

• Take a warm shower one hour before bedtime. Your temperature will rise and then gradual fall. As it does so, this will start the natural, internal process that brings on sleep.

• Don’t look at the clock at night. Too often, people can’t sleep. They then look at the clock and start worrying about when they’ll get up. This triggers worry that makes falling sleep even more difficult. So, have a clock in your bedroom, but turn its face away from you.

• Try “white noise.” “White noise” machines generate sounds that mask harsh household ones and create a soothing effect.

• Turn off the television near bedtime. Or turn it on. TV affects individuals very differently. Some find it a stimulant; others say it’s the perfect “sleeping pill.” There’s no way to know how you’ll react until you experiment. If you find the TV a good way to go to sleep, be sure to use a timer to turn off the set after an hour has passed. This allows you undisturbed rest.

• Avoid alcohol and big meals near bedtime. Like exercise, these can affect your natural clock.

• Establish an “electronic curfew” for teenagers. Teens usually find the Internet, cell phones, videos, and electronic games highly attractive and stimulating. Have your children turn these off at least an hour before bed so they can relax. 

Dr. Anne Redding is a board certified sleep specialist. She is director of the Sleep Lab at Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk. She also is affiliated with Neurology Specialists, a private practice in Norfolk.